"The goal is not playing or feeling perfectly, but winning when you're not feeling perfect" - Swiatek on perfectionism
ATP
Iga Swiatek is aware that playing perfectly every time is not possible, which is why she focuses on trying to win even when she doesn't feel perfect.
Before competing at the 2022 San Diego Open, Swiatek lost to Barbora Krejcikova in the 2022 Ostrava Open final. It was a spectacular match, but the Polish player was on the losing end.
After her loss in the Czech Republic, Swiatek moved to the United States, where she competed at the San Diego Open. In the final match at the WTA 500 event in San Diego, the Pole bested Donna Vekic.
It was Swiatek's eighth trophy of the year. She has played in nine finals so far, with the one in Ostrava being her only loss. Although she was certainly disappointed by the loss in the Czech Republic, she used it as a lesson.
The WTA World No. 1 player spoke about her approach after her win in San Diego. She admitted that she now knows that being perfect in every match is not possible, which is why she wants to learn winning also when she's not at her best.
"I kind of stopped thinking that way. The goal is not playing or feeling perfectly, but winning when you're not feeling perfect, or winning when you're not comfortable on the court and you can't play with your intuition."
"You have to always change something. That is the key in tennis because we have so many conditions throughout the whole season, different balls, different racquet tensions."
Swiatek admitted that this year, despite being incredibly successful, she felt perfect maybe twice. That's really not a lot, considering the amount of matches she played, which is why she focuses on the moments when she's not feeling so good.
"Finding that perfect feeling is really hard. I feel like I had it maybe twice this season, and that's still a lot. On the other tournament,s it's just working through the times when you're not feeling perfect."
